Evaluation of Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health.

The short growing season in North Dakota limits producer’s options to use cover crops to improve the health of the soil. However, there is much interest in implementing cover crops in cropping systems across the state. To best answer the question of how to incorporate cover crops in North Dakota, a plot was established in 2014 to evaluate various species and mixes. The objectives of this research was to: i) identify mixes of cover crop species that most efficiently utilize water and scavenge Nitrogen (N) in a full season scenario and ii) working one-on-one with producers to test and answer local questions. Plant and soil parameters were evaluated across all replicated treatments in 2014 and 2015. Based on two years of data, soil N content and % soil moisture content showed differences among the cover crop mixes. The preliminary data indicates that mixes are effective for water usage and nutrient scavenging, with some performing superior in terms of N scavenging and water use while others were more cost effective.  Working directly with producers to establish research questions and implementing that research on-farm results in informed management changes and relevant research questions. Overall, in North Dakota cover crops are an area of interest and expanding research. Local research provides producers with the answers needed to adopt cover crops and in turn improve soil health.